From the bestselling author of Pay It Forward comes a story of the heartbreak and healing power of family. New to a small town, Jackie and Paula envision a quiet life for their kids: a young adopted son and two teenage foster children, including the troubled Star. However, they quickly butt heads with their neighbor, Clementine, who disapproves of their lifestyle and is incensed when Star befriends her spirited horse, Comet. Haunted by past tragedy and unable to properly care for Comet, Clem nevertheless resents the bond Star soon shares with the horse. When Star disappears with Comet, the neighbors are thrown together- far too close together. But as the search for the pair wears on, both families must learn to put aside their animosity and confront the choices they've made and the scars they carry. Plumbing the depths of regret and forgiveness, The Language of Hoofbeats explores the strange alchemy that transforms a group of people into a family.

Review: Jackie and Paula move their family, an adopted son and two foster children away from the city to a rural area where Paula will be the veterinarian. They expect some trouble with their different lifestyle, but they find trouble too quickly within their only neighbor, Clementine. Clementine, who disapproves of pretty much everything, does not like that a married lesbian couple now live across the street, she does not like that they have foster kids of varying nationalities and she especially does not like that one of their newer foster kids, Star, has taken a liking to her daughter's horse, Comet. Clementine's daughter passed tragically, and Comet is Clementine's last tie to her only child. Star has an instant connection with Comet, and instinctively knows that the horse is not well taken care of and does her best to give Comet what she needs. When Star and Comet both disappear, the two families are thrown together and forced to overcome their differences and heal.

A heart-warming and intensive family drama that deals with grief, loss, healing and forgiveness. The Language of Hoofbeats had me hooked from the first chapters. The point of view switches from Jackie to Clementine, the two characters who need to let go of their faults and the faults in others. Clementine is such an interesting character, I just had to know what her story was. Watching her transformation and healing process was amazing. The interactions between Clementine and Paula and Jackie's family were beautifully written and very raw, there are no perfect solutions here, just real people dealing with a lot of different emotions. Star's relationship with Comet was touching and was a wonderful device for understanding and healing. As a horse lover, I had no trouble relating to Star's feelings for Comet.This book was received for free in return for an honest review.

About the Author: I'm the author of 24 published and forthcoming books.

My newest releases are Where We Belong, Don’t Let Me Go, Walk Me Home, When I Found You, When You Were Older and Second Hand Heart. Forthcoming is Take Me With You (June '14) and a young readers' edition of Pay It Forward (8-12).

Newer novels are Becoming Chloe, Jumpstart the World, Love in the Present Tense, The Year of My Miraculous Reappearance, Chasing Windmills The Day I Killed James, and Diary of a Witness.

Both Becoming Chloe and Jumpstart the World were included on the ALA’s Rainbow List. Jumpstart the World was chosen as a finalist for two Lambda Literary Awards, received a third place Rainbow Award for Young Adult/Coming of Age Fiction and a tie for first place in Bisexual/Transgender Fiction. Love in the Present Tense enjoyed bestseller status in the UK, where it broke the top ten, spent five weeks on the national bestseller list, was reviewed on a major TV book club, and shortlisted for a Best Read of the Year Award at the British Book Awards. Where We Belong won two Rainbow Awards.

Older works include the story collection Earthquake Weather, and the novels Funerals for Horses, Pay it Forward, Electric God, and Walter’s Purple Heart.

Pay It Forward was adapted into a major motion picture starring Kevin Spacey and Helen Hunt, chosen by the American Library Association for its Best Books for Young Adults list, and translated into more than 23 languages for distribution in over 30 countries. The mass market paperback was released in October 2000 by Pocket Books and quickly became a national bestseller. It is still in print, and was re-released in a trade paperback edition in April of 2010.

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Hi there! I'm Stephanie and I obviously love reading. As, the title suggests, I read at least one hundred pages a day. I enjoy most book genres; however, my favorites are historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction, thriller, horror and YA. I also read a lot of non-fiction science and gardening books for my occupation. I enjoy reviewing books and as always, any book that I receive for free is read in return for my honest review.